Titans hire Downing as tight ends coach

The Titans have hired former Minnesota Vikings tight ends coach Todd Downing to fill the same role in Tennessee, the team announced Saturday.He replaces Arthur Smith, who was promoted to offensive coordinator.Downing, 38, will have star tight end Delanie Walker back in the fold when the season begins. Walker missed nearly all of 2018 after a season-ending ankle injury in Week 1.Downing, who is entering his 19th NFL season, served as the Oakland Raiders’ offensive coordinator for one season before joining the Vikings.He had spent the two previous years as quarterbacks coach. He was not retained by the Raiders when the team hired Jon Gruden as head coach last January.Prior to his stint in Oakland, Downing coached quarterbacks for the Buffalo Bills (2014) and Detroit Lions (2011-13). He also served as the Lions’ offensive quality control coach in 2009 and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2010.

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The final practice of Titans training camp today happened alongside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Amidst off and on rain, the teams remained on the outdoor fields and never moved inside. The Titans offense got off to a slow start today in red zone one on ones. The teams went straight from one on ones…

To headline the day, there were no team brawls, so it was a positive day one from joint practices between the Titans and the Bucs. The day was spent with the Titans offense and Bucs defense on one field, and then the Titans defense and Bucs offense on another, until the final portion of practice…

Coach Vrabel took the team inside the bubble today for practice to help get them out of the sun a little before Tampa Bay comes to town for two joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday and then the preseason game vs. the Buccaneers on Saturday. The offense got off to a rocky start today with…

Friday: Following the game at Green Bay on Thursday night, Mike Vrabel had a press conference to talk about his first preseason fame as a head coach. Vrabel was impressed by the play of Harold Landry including his strip sack. Cameron Batson’s aggressiveness while returning kicks also stuck out to the head coach. What Vrabel…